Leadership
2024-2025
A MESSAGE FROM
Our Board Chair and Head of School
Andrea Kassar
Head of School
Dear Friends,
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The theme of this year’s annual report, “Culture of Caring,” captures something essential about Westridge. Looking back to Convocation 2024, when we talked about celebrating the idea of “chalance”—a term brought to us by a Westridge senior, meaning the opposite of “nonchalance,” or that it is cool to care—we could not have anticipated how important this concept would be in the year to follow.
At its heart, our school is animated by care—care for ideas, for one another, and for our dedication to our mission of educating courageous, compassionate leaders. It is a culture that informs how our students learn, how they grow into themselves, and how our community comes together to ensure that every student has the opportunity to forge her own path to extraordinary outcomes.
Caring at Westridge is not passive; it is dynamic and rooted in engagement. We see it in the ways parents and alumnae give their time and expertise, in families—both those with current students and those whose daughters have gone on to college and careers decades ago—supporting each other in times of need, in the joyful energy of our events, and in the generosity of those who support the Westridge Annual Fund. These acts of care form the connective tissue of our school, and year after year, they sustain and expand what is possible for our students.
The reasons we individually care about Westridge span a great range—care about today’s students and the future of girls’ education; care about creating space for connection and community; care about representation in leadership, sports, and STEM fields; care about carrying forward the legacy of Westridge, of our mission. And yet, our collective effort is what makes everything at the school possible.
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During the 2024-2025 school year, we surpassed our Westridge Annual Fund goal and expanded both giving and participation over the prior year. This commitment underscores the way our culture of caring translates into lasting impact and reminds us that Westridge thrives when we carry one another forward.
Thank you for your role in creating and upholding this culture of caring.
With gratitude,
Valerie Lemmon, Chair, Board of Trustees Andrea Kassar, Head of School
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Board of Trustees
2024-2025
Valerie Rubio Lemmon ’92 – Board Chair
Mike Burke
Sigrid Burton ’69
Cathy Colloff
Akila Gibbs
Kirsten L. Hansen ’83
Marc S. Harris
Suzanne D. Icaza
Tina Li Kleindorfer
Richard B. Lord
Jim Lygopoulos
Donald L. Morgan, Ph.D.
John Scott Mulchaey, Ph.D.
Shahbano Nawaz ’98
Ismael Obregon
Daniel Prince
Khalid Rashid
Elizabeth Russell ’69
Vicki von Holzhausen ’90
Emily Ko Wang ’93
Teri Wilde ’69
Wendy Wu Iwata
Joseph J. Ybarra
Nicole Rabaudi ’90 – Alumnae Board Chair
Alumnae Board
2024-2025
Nicole Rabaudi ’90, Chair
Liz Carlton ’03, Vice Chair
Kathryn Aposhian ’07
Taelor Bakewell ’11
Michelle Noble Barnett ’90
Zandie Brockett ’05
Ellie Diop ’10
Cassandra Nufable ’12
Tanya Paz ’02
Marianne Van Vorst Ryan ’79
Melissa Wu ’94
Jessica Yang ’10
Alicia Henry ’01
Ann Hazeltine Hyde ’66
Caroline Sill King ’03
Julia Tyson La Grua ’71
Ashwini Lakshmanan ’97
Olivia Moore ’01
Thembisa Mshaka ’88
2024-2025
Executive Committee
Audrey Huang
President
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Susan Bradforth
President-Elect
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Allison R. Dietrick ’93
Past President
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Stephanie Nava ’90
Treasurer
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Atsuko Gee
Assistant Treasurer
Vilma Livas
Secretary
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Aubri Gibson
VP Communications
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Ritu Kumar ’96
VP Upper School
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Aida Rodgers
VP Middle School
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Patty Wu
VP Lower School
Vanessa Withers
VP Westridge Fund
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Erica Rosales
VP DEIJ
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Angela Rashid
Admissions Liaison
ENGAGING WITH OUR COMMUNITY
Partnership for Success
Founded in 1990, Partnership for Success (PFS) is a collaboration between the Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) and four local independent schools—Chandler, Mayfield Junior, Polytechnic, and Westridge. Each summer, PFS offers an intensive, five-week academic enrichment program to over 400 Pasadena public-school students, starting from the summer after 4th grade through the summer after high school graduation. Notably, 100% of PFS graduates are accepted to college, and many return as program interns. With the generous support of those listed below, PFS continues to benefit hundreds of public-school students each year, offering extraordinary learning opportunities, authentic connections, and college access.
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In addition to the summer enrichment program, the PFS mentor program, launched in the summer of 2020, connects high school students from PUSD, Westridge, Poly, and St. Francis with PFS students in grades 5-9. Throughout the school year, over 100 mentors, including 50+ Westridge Upper Schoolers, provide ongoing academic and social-emotional support, forging lasting relationships and strengthening the sense of community.
Westridge is also involved in PFS leadership on several levels: Upper School Teacher Dr. Jessica Pérez Del Toro is the current PFS executive director, Upper School Teacher Dr. Vicki Garrett is the site director for Westridge, and Head of School Andrea Kassar sits on the PFS Advisory Board.